Outside the Russian consulate, it is dark already as CTU agents begin to clean up in the aftermath of the consulate raid. Jack Bauer is being tended to by a field medic when Mike Doyle approaches to tell him that MEDEVAC teams are on their way. Jack says he’s fine but the medic tells him that he may have floating rib fragments and will need to be stabilized. However, Jack insists that he’s fit for work and wants to finish the mission, but Doyle says that CTU is running the operation and that it’s out of his hands. Jack watches him as he heads off and looks around, noticing an incoming helicopter.

At CTU, Bill Buchanan is on the phone to Vice PresidentNoah Daniels and tells him they have reason to believe Dmitri Gredenko is now in possession of five unmanned aerial drones somewhere in the Shadow Valley. Bill confirms Daniels’ fears of the possibility that Gredenko and Abu Fayed could arm the drones with the warheads but assures him that they are redirecting their satellites and the Air Force is scrambling F-16s to find them. Daniels is quietly incensed by the lack of intel and the fact that Gredenko and Fayed could launch a drone any second but tells Bill to keep him updated. Bill agrees as Daniels hangs up.

Fayed and Gredenko watch the drone take off

In the Shadow Valley, Fayed’s men are finishing their work on the first drone when Gredenko orders them to bring the trucks around so they can move out quickly. Fayed asks what’s wrong and Gredenko dodges the question with another question, asking how many drones are ready. He is annoyed when Fayed tells him that only one is ready and Fayed repeats his question. Gredenko tells him that the Americans know their location which enrages Fayed, who deduces that Anatoly Markov has given up their location.

Gredenko says all that matters is that the Americans know where they are and that the drone must be launched before American forces close in on their position. Fayed reminds him that they have three bombs for three specific targets but Gredenko assures him that they will find a way to deliver the other bombs. Fayed tells him that after putting up with Gredenko’s condescending remarks about losing the other bombs, it is now his fault because Markov was his contact. Gredenko says that he can blame him as much as he wants but if don’t start moving, they’ll be captured or killed.

A convoy of trucks arrives and Fayed turns away from Gredenko to give his men the orders to load the remaining bombs in them. Meanwhile, Gredenko uses a secure satellite phone to contact Victor, the drone’s remote pilot, to tell him that the schedule has been accelerated and that he must launch drone 0709. Victor protests, saying that he hasn’t finished implementing the drone’s evasion factors but Gredenko tells him to launch the drone anyway and to implement the factors in-flight. Victor complies and takes out the joystick and throttle he will use to control the craft. By pulling on the throttle, the drone springs to life back in the Shadow Valley. Victor can see the drone’s current position via cameras onboard and Gredenko and Fayed watch as it takes flight. Gredenko reminds Fayed that they must leave immediately and Fayed issues the orders to his men.

07:05:32

At CTU, Nadia Yassir is on the phone when Milo Pressman comes over and leans, relaxingly, on her desk. She assures the person on the other end of the line that they will have real time feed once their satellites have been repositioned. A voice on the other end isn’t happy and reminds her about the lives at stake. She hangs up the phone and he asks if she’s okay. She begins to nod but then admits that she isn’t. Milo gently puts his hand on her wrist and tells her that they’re going to get through it. She stares at him before saying that she hopes so. Chloe O'Brian approaches with a frown and they instantly straighten up. She doesn’t say anything, prompting Milo to ask if there is a problem. Chloe simply says “yeah” and Nadia asks if she plans on telling them what it is.

Chloe stares at Nadia and tells them that she was installing security upgrades when noticed Nadia using Milo’s clearance code which is a felony security breach. Milo tries to play it as though it was a glitch in his system but Chloe sees through it and tells them Nadia was working with his user ID so unless she stole it, he gave it to her. Nadia, who has been quiet through all this, tells her that he was just trying to help her because of the Homeland Security order. Chloe says she’s familiar with the directive and thinks it’s wrong for them to profile their own agents based on race but it’s still a felony security breach for her to use Milo’s code. Milo tries to reason with her by saying that if she reports them they won’t be able to help the situation if they’re fired but Chloe tells him that if she was going to report them she wouldn’t be talking to them and if she noticed it, someone else would notice sooner or later. Chloe, seemingly annoyed that they hadn’t trusted her, rolls her eyes and walks away as Nadia and Milo stare at one another. A ringing phone interrupts their thoughts.

Buchanan and General Walsh

It’s Bill from a conference table, telling them that they have a visual of the Shadow Valley and it appears as though the terrorist have launched a drone. He also says that he’s about to begin a conference with General Walsh and she tell him that she’s on her way.

07:07:31

From a tracking station, Walsh is put through to Bill who tells him they’ve made visual contact with a single drone and are tracking it on satellite. Also seated at the conference table, Morris O'Brian relays the information that the drone is heading on a northwest vector out of the Shadow Valley at a velocity of 360 mph. As Nadia arrives, Walsh reads over a copy of the drone’s specifications, saying it is virtually undetectable by RADAR and they’ll need help to guide the F-16s to intercept. Bill tells Walsh that they will have a video feed to him momentarily as Walsh asks if they know the drone’s intended target. Nadia says the closest target would be downtown Los Angeles, roughly four minutes within range.

However, Walsh says his men would be able to intercept it within two minutes. Morris’ laptop begins to beep and he alerts everyone that the drone is no longer on satellite. Bill questions how it could have disappeared and Morris tells him that when he had to switch satellites when it passed between grids. Walsh advises him to readjust based on the drone’s vectors and Morris tells him that he’s doing it but the drone isn’t where it’s supposed to be. Bill picks up a phone and dials the White House as the rest of the CTU staff springs into action as Walsh tells Bill that he’ll have the F-16s stay in a holding pattern.

While driving on a deserted highway, Gredenko receives a call from Victor who tells him that he’s disabled CTU’s tracking ability and will be able to keep it hidden from their satellite until it has reached the target. Gredenko is pleased and says that he will contact him again once they are out of the area.

The cabinet

In a conference room in the White House bunker, Tom Lennox tells Daniels that he just spoke with Bill and that CTU has lost visual contact on the launched drone. Daniels is confused and Tom tells him that it’s unclear how it happened. Daniels’ confusion gives way to anger as he questions how the most sophisticated satellite network in the world would allow that to happen. Lennox tells him that CTU is still trying to determine that while the military has three squadrons on the look out but the drone is almost invisible to RADAR so the pilots are limited to making a visual ID at night, over hundreds of square miles.

He tells Daniels that CTU has assembled a list of high probability targets but Daniels seems uninterested and instead orders Lisa Miller to set up a meeting with the Joint Chiefs as soon as possible. Tom asks why such a meeting would be necessary but Daniels reminds him that he warned the Ambassador that he’d hold his country responsible if another nuclear device was detonated on American soil. Tom counters with the fact that there’s no evidence to link the attacks to the Ambassador’s country but Daniels is firm in the belief that his people need to understand that America isn’t just rattling the saber and that he will answer their threat with an “in-kind military response.” Lennox inquires about Daniels’ use of the word “in-kind” and Daniels tells him that he wants the Joint Chiefs to draw up their own list of possible targets for a nuclear strike. Tom is shocked by this and looks at Lisa who even looks a bit surprised by Daniels’ course of action. Daniels rigidly tells him that he won’t allow another attack to go unanswered as Tom shakes his head.

At CTU, Chloe is working at a station opposite Morris and tells Bill that they can eliminate Los Angeles as a target based on the drone’s rate of speed, with San Diego and Santa Barbara the next off the list. Bill ponders this and asks how many targets are still within the drone’s range. Checking her monitor, she tells him that there are still fifteen cities with a population over a million. He tells her that they’ve got to narrow it down and since they will probably want the maximum civilian death toll, probable targets include San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

He orders her to confirm that first response teams to be deployed in those cities and turns to Morris to tell him to make sure the Air Force prioritizes their search on that basis. Bill looks up and catches a glimpse of Jack and Doyle walking in. He asks Morris to give him the projected coordinates and leaves when Morris hands him a piece of paper. Jack catches him on his way to Chloe’s usual workstation and asks if they’ve picked up Gredenko and Bill tells him they’re working on it. Annoyed, Jack asks what happened and Bill tells him that Gredenko was able to escape after launching a drone.

Jack asks how close the Air Force is to intercepting it and Bill tells him that they were minutes away when the drone disappeared on their radar. Jack is visibly annoyed but Bill tells him to go to medical to get checked out. He reluctantly agrees but asks that Bill keep him informed before heading off in the direction of the clinic. Bill turns to Doyle and orders him to run point on the search for Fayed and Gredenko and adds that Milo is running the search from the situation room and that he’ll join them in a few minutes.

Marilyn tries to kiss Jack

07:16:32

Jack is being escorted to medical when he spots Marilyn Bauer in a room just off the corridor, excusing himself, he asks to be alone for a minute with her. She asks if he’s hurt and he tells her that he’s fine. The stare at each other in silence for a moment before Jack says that he’ll come by to check on her and Josh as soon as everything is over. She smiles weakly and tells him that she’d always regretted the way things had ended between them and always believed he did too. She moves in to kiss him and he almost follows through before moving away at the last second.

Slightly embarrassed, she asks if she’s wrong. Jack, confused by his emotions, tells her that she’s not wrong but he was with someone before being taken by the Chinese. He says that she doesn’t know he’s still alive and that he needs to talk to her to see what happens. Mystified, she asks if he’s referring to Audrey Raines. Surprised that she would even know this, he admits, “yeah.” She searches his eyes for the information before saying that she’s sorry to be the one to tell him, but that Audrey was killed in a car accident in China a few months earlier and she’d read about it in the paper. Jack is silent in shock for a moment before he begins to question the role China played. He excuses himself and staggers angrily and confused into the corridor, trying to piece the information together in his head.

Chloe is on the phone when Jack approaches, ripping it out of her hands and slamming it down on the receiver. On the verge of tears, he demands to know why anyone didn’t tell him about Audrey and Chloe is hesitant for a second but quickly tells him that Bill didn’t want to tell him when he first got back because he thought Fayed was going to kill him. She apologizes and says that she probably should have told him. Jack, still unable to fully grasp the situation, choking, asks if Audrey was in China looking for him and she confirms it, saying that it was Audrey who’d figured out that they were the ones who had taken him.

Jack paces frantically as she says that Audrey had spent the last year going through back channels trying to getting him out but the rest of the information was classified by Division and that they were asked to send a DNA sample to get a match on the remains, which Chloe assumes they did. Jack’s heartbreak gives way to pure rage as he snarls at her to get the file adding, “NOW!” Sheepishly, Chloe agrees but tells him that she’ll have to dig it out of the archives. “Just do it,” he tells her and happens to meet Bill’s eyes from across the room inside the situation room. They exchange glances before Jack heads off and Bill begins to suspect that all is not well.

In the bunker, Lisa is going over the attendance for the impending meeting with the cabinet to Daniels, who is pleased with her progress until she tells him that Karen Hayes will be there. He tells her that he doesn’t want Karen there because of her support of President Wayne Palmer’s policies and could pose a problem. She says there’s nothing she could do because Karen is still acting-National Security Advisor but, given the current circumstances, his plans will not face much objection. He cracks a smile and tells her that he’s known Karen for many years and that it would be a mistake to underestimate her. Glancing out the office window, he even sees her coming in their direction.

Karen and Tom meet

Karen stops to say hello to Lennox when she notices the bruise on his forehead. She asks if someone pushed him down the stairs but he responds in-kind by saying he tripped over her ineptitude. She tells him that she’s not there to play games and that she won’t allow him to blackmail her again because she is there to represent the president. He agrees and as she starts to walk away, he tells her that no one is sorrier than him about what happened to Wayne. She stares at him for a second before saying that they have that in common as they both step into the conference room for the cabinet meeting.

Daniels walks in as everyone takes their respective seats around the conference table. He addresses them by revealing that Fayed and Gredenko have launched a drone capable of containing a nuclear warhead. He goes on to say that efforts are ongoing to find the drone but if those efforts fail, it would result in a second nuclear attack on the country within the span of ten hours and he is determined to respond with a military action on their part. Secretary of DefenseEthan Kanin is curious as to where the military would strike because he was under the impression that the terrorists are stateless but Daniels dismisses this as fiction the terrorists hide behind and that everyone present is aware that the government of Fayed’s country is known to support terrorism and it is time to hold them accountable. He tells them that the Ambassador has been informed that, should the bomb go off, the US will retaliate with a nuclear strike of their own.

Karen reluctantly holds her tongue while Tom ponders the situation and Daniels assures everyone that it would be a warning shot rather than a full fledged attack. He also says the missile would be directed at a lowly populated area before turning the floor over to Admiral John Smith who says he has found a suitable location which would result in approximately 2,000 deaths with radiation poisoning doubling that figure over the next few years. Daniels is fine with the proposal but Karen, appalled at the situation, tries to remind him that the Middle Eastern country’s government is doing the best they can to control Fayed in an attempt to stop him. Daniels retorts that the Middle Eastern government has to do a little better and that the bomb may convince them.

Karen voices her opinions on the aftermath which would allow the terrorists position in the country to strengthen as well as the Russian and Chinese response which could trigger another world war but Daniels says he has already taken that into account. In desperation, Karen says that the stakes are too high to base the decision on his personal judgment and that she feels such actions would be dangerous as well as reckless. Daniels eyes her carefully before telling her that her opinions have been registered but the debate is over because America must stand up for herself and this is the best way to stop the attacks. He stands to leave and orders Admiral Smith to have a nuclear strike sub standing by. His departure adjourns the meeting as Lisa follows him out while Tom and Karen exchange worried glances.

At CTU, Milo catches Nadia on her way up to Buchanan’s office to ask why he didn’t receive some of the files she was going to send him. She tells him that his system was overloaded so she gave them to Morris. Milo questions if he seems to be himself because he had a drink but Nadia doesn’t think so. She heads up the stairs leaving him alone to think. Unassumingly, he wanders over to Chloe’s workstation to ask what she’s doing.

She tells him that she’s setting up a reverse data stream on the drone’s satellite intel and he casually states that Morris seems better. Immediately suspicious, she asks if that was a question and Milo drops the act and asks again but she is insistent that he’s fine. Milo asks for a favor and despite the fact that she declines, he asks her to check Morris’ breath because if he’s had a drink and is headed for another crash, they need to know. Chloe pouts before agreeing and gets up to head over to Morris’ station.

07:29:46

Chloe kisses Morris

Milo watches from across the room as Chloe walks up to Morris and, without a word, passionately kisses him. He asks what that was for and she bluntly tells him that she needed to check his breath. He thinks about this for a second before glancing to Milo who, embarrassed, returns the acknowledgment. Chloe reports back to Milo that Morris is fine before returning to her station. Morris, still a bit surprised, returns to work. “Got to love this place,” he says, to no one in particular.

In the White House bunker, Karen catches up with Lennox in the hall and tells him that he couldn’t possibly be in favor with the plan for a nuclear strike. However, he seems to agree with Daniels, reminding her that it will only be a warning shot but Karen redefines it as a military offensive on foreign soil that they won’t be able to contain. He seems hesitant and she continues by telling that she saw the doubt in his eyes all throughout the meeting. In a quiet rage he tells her not to presume to know what he is thinking or feeling because he serves at the discretion of those above him.

Karen counters by saying that he serves the interest of the President and that Wayne would not approve of this course of action. Lennox tells her that every decision Wayne made was wrong including the rejection of his security plan and the use of Assad as an appeal to extremist groups, rendering this as their only option. Karen refuses to accept that he actually believes that but he says that it doesn’t matter what he believes because as long as Wayne is in a coma, Daniels is the acting Commander-in-Chief. He leaves her with the hard fact that the only way Daniels would abort the missile launch is if CTU found and destroyed the drone.

07:31:30

In the CTU situation room, Doyle is briefing Bill and other key personnel on the ground teams looking for Fayed and Gredenko. Chloe walks in and announces that the drone has been able to stay hidden from their satellites because whoever is piloting it has the resources to anticipate when the reposition the satellites. Bill questions how that could happen and Chloe says that there must be a leak because the information is being routed through a workstation at CTU.

While Bill digests the fact that one of their own people could be a mole, Doyle asks if the substation could be isolated. She tells him that they won’t be able to because it is being masked through a sub-circuit and there are over fifty stations in the building and that it could take an hour. Bill reminds her that they don’t have an hour and Doyle immediately suggests Nadia.

Milo rebukes Mike

Both Bill and Chloe seem surprised and Milo demands to know why Nadia should be singled out first and if her religion has anything to do with it. Doyle tells him that he is following standard protocol and that she’s already been tagged and given restricted clearance. Doyle continues that yes, it is because she is a Muslim and that that is enough to go on because everyone is thinking it even if they won’t say it. Milo tells him he is a racist but Bill cuts Milo off by reminding him that they will have to check every system in the building and there’s no reason not to start with Nadia.

Milo says there’s every reason, considering she’s loyal to the country. Doyle taunts him by asking if his assessment is based on private knowledge or if Milo just wants to sleep with her. Milo lunges at Doyle but Bill rushes over to them, breaking them up. Chloe watches in silence as Bill tells Doyle that his remark was way out of line and they will need to put aside their differences to find the mole. Chloe looks at her monitor before telling them that it is Nadia and the signature trace matches her computer. Bill orders Chloe to shut down the workstation as Doyle gets on the phone and orders a security team to the main floor.

Bill watches Nadia from the situation room before following Doyle, Hodge and another security guard to Nadia’s workstation. Doyle orders her to surrender the station but she resists. He grabs her and demands to know who she has been streaming information to and where the pilot is. Nadia is shocked and Bill orders Doyle to stop. Doyle steps away and Bill tells the guards to handcuff her and take her to holding. Nadia professes her innocence and begs Bill not to listen to Doyle but is led away as Morris watches her in shock. She is brought past Milo, who is still in the situation room, and they exchange worried glances as she is led away. Bill orders Morris to secure her station and run a back check to find the leak. He is still shaken but complies as Milo tries to make sense of what has happened.

In the van, Gredenko calls Victor to find the drone’s current position. Victor reports that the drone is 130 miles from the target, San Francisco, and will detonate in twenty minutes. Satisfied, Gredenko hangs up and stares out the window.

Wayne is still unconscious in the White House bunker’s emergency room as Karen watches from a nearby window. Dr. Welton issues orders to the others in the room that if Wayne even moves an eyelid that he wants to know about it. He leaves in a rush but Karen catches him and asks about Wayne’s condition. He tells her that it has gotten worse in the past 15 minutes and they had to induce a coma to relieve the swelling of fluids. However, he feels that they’ve stopped it before the brain was damaged and that his vitals are still strong. She asks him if there’s anyway to bring Wayne back to consciousness, saying that it’s a matter of national security. Dr. Welton tells her that it would be a serious risk and that only a member of his family could authorize it, but he warns her that if the swelling isn’t contained Wayne could suffer permanent brain damage. He excuses himself and Karen returns to window, and sees a distraught Sandra Palmer watching from another window.

07:41:10

At CTU, Morris is running the back check on Nadia’s system while Chloe watches over his shoulder. Nearby, Milo is watching the camera feed from the holding room and can see Nadia restrained to a chair as Doyle preps her for interrogation. Milo refuses to believe that Nadia could be involved but Chloe reminds him that the signal came from Nadia’s station. She doesn’t want to believe it either but doesn’t know all the facts. Milo, still watching the holding room feed, tells her that Doyle’s an ass but Chloe says that he’s just doing his job and they would have to prove Nadia’s innocence before he’ll stop.

Morris alerts them that he may have found something, static on an outgoing line which could be traced to the location the information was sent. Within a matter of seconds, the computer traces it to 1530 Hillcrest which, as Milo points out, is "bloody close", being only a few blocks away from CTU. Milo rushes off but not before ordering Morris to tell Bill.

Doyle interrogates Nadia

In the holding room, Doyle’s interrogation of Nadia is just beginning. Nadia's hands are tied behind her back and secured to a chair and her feet are bound. He calmly demands for her to cooperate but her silence only enrages him to the point that he grabs her by the neck, choking her. He warns her that he will do whatever is necessary to get answers. She manages a nod of her understanding and he releases his grasp as she gasps for air. She tells Doyle that she’s read his file and knows about what he did in Denver and that he enjoys hurting people. Doyle quickly asserts his authority by reminding her that she’s the one being interrogated.

On the verge of tears, she maintains her innocence as he pulls her head back by her hair. Milo charges in, telling Doyle to get away from her. Doyle fumes and Milo repeats his warning. When Doyle demands to know what he’s doing, Milo informs him that they were able to track the drone pilot’s location through her station and that it’s only a few blocks away. Doyle storms out telling Milo that he’s not through with Nadia yet.

07:43:20

Nadia continues to gasp for air as Milo stoically asks if she’s okay. She nods and pleadingly tells him that she had nothing to do with the breach. Milo just stares at her. Betrayed, she tells him to leave as a single tear falls down her cheek. Milo continues to stare for a bit before shakes his head and walks out, leaving her alone.

Jack sees the file on Audrey's death

In Medical, Jack opens a file to see a dossier of Audrey with the word “DECEASED” stamped across it in large, red letters. He leafs through the file’s contents, filled with pictures after the accident. Audrey’s hooded body, burned and disfigured is pictured along with her passport as Jack attempts to understand what has happened. Hearing voices in the corridor, he struggles to his feet and asks a passing agent what is going on. The agent tells him that they’re mobilizing to intercept the drone’s pilot, having received his location. Jack restlessly watches them pass.

07:44:44

Bill is briefing everyone on staff, alerting them that the drone pilot is within close proximity to CTU and that he is instituting a Level 1 security lockdown, resulting in all provisional safeguards going into effect. He dismisses them and approaches staffer Marcy ordering her to contact LAPD to seal off a perimeter. He looks up just in time to see Jack moving toward Chloe’s desk. Jack asks her if they’ve been able to confirm the pilot’s location and she tells him that it’s a relay station. He tells her to get him a PDA and a phone as she hurries away. Bill comes over to ask what Jack is doing and Jack tells him that he’ll be going with the team.

When Bill reminds Jack that he should be in Medical, Jack tells him that he should have been informed about Audrey. Jack hands Audrey’s file to Bill who looks at it thoughtfully before saying that he didn’t think it was right to tell him about her accident when they were asking him to give up his life. Jack says that it was murder not an accident but Bill says they don’t know for sure. Jack, however, is certain and tells Bill that he can’t let her die for nothing after she gave her life to get him out of China. Jack resolutely states that he’s going to finish the task at hand and then he’s going to go after the people responsible for Audrey’s murder. Jack pleads with him one last time and Bill relents, telling Jack that he’ll alert Doyle that Jack will be running point. As Bill walks away, Jack considers what to do next.

Victor, the drone pilot is on the phone with Gredenko, telling him that the drone is within three minutes of the target. He goes on to say that he will fly the drone in at the optimum altitude to inflict the most damage, exactly how Gredenko planned. Gredenko tells him to concentrate on the task at hand.

07:52:10

Outside, Jack radios Bill to tell him that the team is in position. Bill tells Jack that the intrusion came from the northwest corner of a switching station and Chloe interrupts to tell Jack that the easiest way to get in would be the rear entrance. Jack turns to Doyle to make sure that he hear her. Doyle, worried about Jack’s injuries, asks Jack if he wants him to run point but Jack is adamant about doing it before giving the order to go. The teams take their positions as Jack and Doyle head for the rear gate. Peering around the gate, Jack sees a man leave the building and shoots him as he passes before continuing.

Inside, Victor and another man hear something rattle, arousing suspicion. He sends the other man to go check as he concentrates on the controls. Jack shoots the man, alerting Victor to hide. As Jack enters the drone’s control room, Victor attempts to shoot him but Jack manages to shoot Victor in the leg first. As he reaches for a grenade, Jack comes around the corner and shoots him again. The grenade clatters to the floor, still pinned. As Doyle secures the area, Jack takes the helm of the drone and radios for Chloe. Bill asks Jack what his status is and he tells them that the drone pilot is down, that he is at the controls and that the target is San Francisco. Bill orders Morris to alert law enforcement and first responder teams in San Francisco and to coordinate with them. Meanwhile, Jack realizes that the controls are only for navigation and would not allow him to disarm the bomb.

Doyle, on his headset, tells CTU that they should be connected to the drone’s computer which Chloe acknowledges. Bill asks Jack if there’s any way to determine the triggering method for the bomb and Jack says it looks like the terrorists have wired a GPS module to the bomb and that it will go off as soon as it crosses a designated perimeter. He tries to turn to drone but Chloe warns that if he does it too quickly it may stall and he would lose control. Milo states that, on its present course, the drone will cross the perimeter within 30 seconds. Jack continues to turn the drone when an alarm goes off, a stabilizer warning. Doyle checks his watch, and says they have 20 seconds. Jack’s hand is shaking on the joystick as the drone keeps turning. Doyle gives him a 10 second alert and the drone starts to turn more rapidly, narrowly missing the perimeter which Chloe confirms.

Jack lands the drone

Yet another warning bell goes off as Jack tells Chloe that he needs to find a place to land the drone because he’s fighting a stall. Digging through paperwork, Milo tells them that the drone would need at least 500 feet of runway to land. Chloe suggests a residential area close to the drone’s position but Jack tells her to find somewhere that isn’t as heavily populated. She quickly finds a stretch of road in an industrial park along the bay and sends the coordinates to him. Bill tells Morris to deploy all first responding teams. Jack moves the drone into position and begins to land. The drone’s speed causes it to land hard but Jack radios that the drone is down. The drone’s landing gear shoots off sparks and flames as it continues down the road before the wing clips a pylon of a dock crane causing even more flames to erupt as it stumbles to a halt.

At CTU, the feed from the on-board camera is broken, causing several staff members to look up in alarm. Morris alerts them that none of the first responders in San Francisco are reporting a detonation. Bill relays the message to Jack and asks if they can get an on-site visual. Morris replies that there is a fire and rescue unit already on site. Doyle tells Jack that Victor is still alive and Jack orders him to do whatever is necessary to bring him back to consciousness.

The nuke is stopped, but a radiation leak occurs

07:56:47

The drone is still burning as the rescue teams arrive. Rogers, the closest firefighter to the bomb, orders another firefighter to bring him a Geiger counter, which he does. Immediately, the Geiger counter indicates the presence of radioactive material and Rogers warns the others to move out to wait for the HAZMAT teams. The men scramble back to their vehicles as the drone continues to burn…

Daniels gives the order to attack

Split screen: Wayne Palmer is still unconscious as Sandra watches helplessly through the window. Bill is on the phone to the White House. Doyle struggles to keep Victor alive and Jack ponders his next move. Nadia, still in holding, yawns out of pain and exhaustion.

In the White House bunker, Lisa tells Daniels that Bill is on the phone. Bill reports that the drone was intercepted before the nuclear bomb was able to detonate, much to the relief of the bunker staff. Lennox offers his congratulations but Daniels doesn’t seem thrilled. Bill goes on to say that they were able to regain control of the drone, crash-landing it in a remote industrial park which caused a leak in radioactive material. Daniels concludes that it is now a “dirty bomb” but Karen counters by saying it was a radiological spill and not a dispersal device. Nevertheless, Daniels says that it was an attack on the nation and asks Bill if there are casualties. Bill informs them that local responders got to the crash site before the HAZMAT teams and were most likely exposed to lethal doses of radiation but that radioactive material was not widely dispersed, resulting in a minimal number of casualties.

Daniels, still not pleased, thanks Bill before hanging up. He thinks for a second before ordering the strike to continue as planned. Karen tells him that the attack was averted and that CTU was successful but Daniels surmises that there will be civilian deaths as well as environmental damage and would hardly consider that as a success. Karen reminds him that the damage will be minimal compared to what would have happened if the bomb had gone off and they should consider themselves fortunate. Seeing that her words are having no effect, she turns to Lennox who tells Daniels that they were led to believe that the warning strike would only occur in response to the detonation of a nuclear weapon. Daniels says that that is a technicality and that he intends to carry out the warning he gave the Prime Minister. Lennox stares at him incredulously as Daniels turns to Kanin and asks how soon the submarine can be in position for the strike. Kanin tells him that they can be position within an hour once the order is given.

“The order is given,” says Daniels, without hesitation. He orders the missile to be launched as soon as the submarine is in range, much to the shock and disbelief of Karen and Lennox.